It’s all about stepping up at the
right time on the biggest stage.
And that, UAAP fans, is what Roger
Pogoy just did in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 77 Finals against the NU Bulldogs.
With his team down in the scorecards
to start the second half, Pogoy caught fire, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the
third period to turn the tables on the NU quintet.
The key? The Tamaraws made the
necessary adjustments and helped themselves by playing faster and forcing the
Bulldogs to play FEU’s pace.
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| Mike Tolomia and the rest of FEU turned it up a notch in the second half to beat NU in Game 1. |
The Moraytans scored a total of 6
fastbreak points in the first half on only 3 transition attempts.
In the third quarter alone, coach
Nash Racela’s wards scored just as many fastbreak points on 4 transition
attempts.
Translation?
FEU put the pedal to the metal and
forced NU to try and catch up.
The result? The Green & Gold
outscored the Bulldogs, 25-12, in the third period, holding on for the 75-70
win.
Oh, and it definitely didn’t help
one bit that coach Eric Altamirano’s guys made good on only 48% of their free
throws. I mean, FEU was whistled for 28 fouls (eleven more than NU), which
resulted in 31 FTs (more than double FEU’s total), BUT the Henry Sy-backed team
could only convert on 15 of those attempts. Star playmaker Gelo Alolino, who made
nearly 80% of his free throws prior to the Finals, went just 3/7, while key
players Alfred Aroga and Glenn Khobuntin combined to shoot 8/17 from the
stripe.
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| Gelo Alolino needs to better his Game 1 production for the Bulldogs to have a good chance of staying alive. |
So, what can NU do in Game 2 to
finally beat FEU this season and force a Game 3?
The Bulldogs need to establish their
frontline. By that I don’t just mean Aroga and Troy Rosario, but Khobuntin as
well, who’s really more of a small PF rather than a big SF. Aroga and Rosario
should get their 10-15 points each, but Khobuntin has to be big. He shot just 3/12
from the floor in Game 1, and that won’t cut it. He can’t let Pogoy outscore
him, 14-9, and expect to come out with a W.
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| Roger Pogoy caught fire at the right time for FEU. |
NU also needs to have someone other
than Aroga put points on the board off the bench. Second unit sparkplugs like
J-Jay Alejandro, Rev Diputado, and Kyle Neypes have to contribute significantly
to offset the star power and balance of FEU. If NU’s second unit puts together
a couple of good runs, then the Bulldogs can steal Game 2.
Lastly, coach E needs to prepare for
a monster game from Mac Belo. Prior to Game 1, Belo was limited to single-digit
scoring only once this season (coincidentally, it was also against NU in the
first round, but FEU still won that match), and he bounced back in a big way
after that. He dropped 13 markers in a rout of Adamson in the next game and
then dropped a 23-10 double-double on the Bulldogs in an overtime victory.
Given that history, it stands to reason Belo will go all out in Game 2, and NU’s
defense has to be ready for that.
As for FEU, beating the Bulldogs three
out of three times this season should give them supreme confidence heading into
the potential title-clinching game. And that’s something coach Nash has to
check. It’s so easy to be lulled into complacency when you’ve repeatedly
survived against the same team time and again, but NU is no longer fighting for
just a spot in the Final Four. NU is fighting for its first title in more than
four decades. The Bulldogs are just backed into a corner. They know they have a
once in a lifetime chance to annex the elusive UAAP diadem, and it’s a good bet
they won’t go down scratching, biting, and barking till kingdom come.
And another thing – expect that
whichever team controls the pace controls the destiny of this series.
Because pace, as Game 1 proved, is
power.
All images are by Marlon Bernabe/BurnSports.
All images are by Marlon Bernabe/BurnSports.
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